Home » Telecommunications Articles » Siemens Enterprise Communications prepares NHS Foundation Trust Sheffield Teaching Hospitals for unified communications
Siemens Enterprise Communications prepares NHS Foundation Trust Sheffield Teaching Hospitals for unified communications
NHS Trust eyes IP telephony installation for remote working and manageable costs
LONDON, UK, April 04, 2009 /Telecommunications PR News/ -- Siemens Enterprise Communications today announces that one of the largest acute NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, is piloting a platform for open unified communications, starting with a trial IP telephony programme.
Siemens is providing consultancy and its IP telephony solution, Openscape Voice, which is being integrated into the trust's existing legacy private branch exchange (PBX) infrastructure at Hallamshire Hospital. This will allow staff to work remotely more easily and in the longer term Openscape Voice will pave the way for unified communications. It will also reduce the costs associated with running two separate networks for voice and data. Other benefits include the ability to look at session initiative protocol (SIP) based wireless communications as part of the overall Trust strategy.
Recently named "Trust of the Year" by the Dr Foster Good Hospital Guide, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals had a legacy PBX telephone infrastructure but was keen to benefit from cost savings and operational benefits that open IP telephony and open, unified communications could offer. The Trust worked with Siemens to develop a scalable unified communications strategy, starting with analysis of the Trust's existing data network followed by an action plan to prepare the network to also accept voice data too.
The hospital's IP telephony system will slot into the Trust's existing phone infrastructure, improving workplace flexibility without having to replace the entire system. There is also the option to roll out the technology, as well as unified communications, across all five sites as required. With limited IT team resources at the Trust, it was imperative that Siemens create a cost focused solution that did not need significant installation time or IT team resource.
John Spence, Assistant Director of Informatics, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says: "Whilst we were quite happy with the existing PBX network, the opportunity to pilot Openscape has given us an ideal way to plan the resources needed to provide services and understand the benefits open, unified communications can offer; namely reduced operating and maintenance costs. We are now preparing for the future but at a pace that suits both the financial and resource parameters of the Trust. The Openscape Voice platform allows just that and at the same time providing a high level of integration into the existing voice network."
Tim Bishop, Director of Strategy, Siemens Enterprise Communications, says: "The CIO agenda is changing as the global economy continues to shift; as such public and private sector organisations are focusing on cost and efficiency. For Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, working across multiple sites, it is especially suited to open communications as it is faced with budget constraints along with a need to offer staff and patients the best possible service. The option to integrate IP telephony into an existing phone and data infrastructure will prove invaluable to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals in the long run and Siemens' consultancy, software and services has helped create a strong long term communications strategy."
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Notes to editors
Previously called the HiPath 8000, OpenScape Voice Application puts communication at the heart of all business processes. It serves as the foundation for business communications supporting multi-media UC and communications enabled business process through a unique blend of:
• Rich features - delivers rich feature set for data-centre deployment for rich end to end communications
• Open Standards - native standards based interoperability with existing ICT infrastructure within an IT framework
• Scalability - unmatched scalability for growth at your own pace from 300 to 100,000 users - and from just voice to full unified communications
• Resiliency - unrivalled reliability, resiliency, and recovery for business continuity
• Manageability - advanced administration capabilities to simplify system management and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO)
• Extensibility - advanced application integration with choices in features
• Open service delivery - highly flexible deployment models
About Siemens Enterprise Communications Group (SEN Group)
The SEN Group is a premier provider of enterprise communications solutions. More than 14,000 employees in 80 countries carry on the tradition of voice and data excellence started more than 160 years ago with Werner von Siemens and the invention of the pointer telegraph. Today the company leads the market with its "Open Communications" approach that enables teams working within any IT infrastructure to improve productivity through a unified collaboration experience. SEN Group is a joint venture between the private equity firm, The Gores Group, and Siemens AG and incorporates Siemens Enterprise Communications, Enterasys Networks, SER Solutions, Cycos and iSEC. In fiscal 2008, The SEN Group generated revenues of approximately 3.21 billion Euros.
For further information, please contact:
Simon Burberry/Mark Walker/Jenny Sneyd
Chameleon PR
Siemens@chameleonpr.com
+44 20 7680 5500
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